zhè gè fáng zi wèi yú guǎng zhōu shì hǎi zhū qū tóng fú dōng lù fù jìn

这个房子位于广州市海珠区同福东路附近

The house is near the Tongfu East Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou

nián chū wǒ de péng yǒu ā zhū hé mǎi xià le zhè gè fáng zi

2017年初，我的朋友阿朱和bubu买下了这个房子

At the beginning of 2017, my friends A Zhu and BUBU bought the house

wěi tuō wǒ lái shè jì

委托我来设计

And entrusted me with the design

zhè fù jìn dà bù fēn de jiē qū dōu jiàn yú mín guó shí qī

这附近大部分的街区都建于民国时期

Most of the blocks nearby were built in the Republican period

fáng zi de xiàn zhuàng jǐ hū shì yī gè wēi lóu de zhuàng tài

房子的现状几乎是一个危楼的状态

The house was almost dilapidated

wǒ men jiù bǎ yuán lái de lǎo fáng zi jìn xíng le gǎi jiàn

我们就把原来的老房子进行了改建

So we renovated it

bǎ tā biàn chéng yī gè xīn de jiàn zhù

把它变成一个新的建筑

Into a new building

wū zhǔ shì yī duì yì shù jiā fū fù

屋主是一对艺术家夫妇

The house is owned by an artist couple

yù suàn yǒu xiàn

预算有限

Who have a limited budget

zhè lǐ de jià gé bǐ shāng pǐn fáng yào biàn yí sì fēn zhī yī

这里的价格比商品房要便宜四分之一

The price is 1/4 cheaper than that of ordinary commercial houses

fáng zi de miàn kuān mǐ jìn shēn mǐ

房子的面宽3米，进深9米

The house is as wide as 3 meters and as deep as 9 meters

zhàn dì miàn jī shì píng mǐ

占地面积是27平米

Covering an area of 27 m2

nán běi liǎng cè tiē zhù lín jū jiā de wài qiáng

南北两侧贴著邻居家的外墙

It clings to the outer walls of neighbors’ house on the north and south sides

dōng xī xiàng shì mǐ kuān de xiàng zi

东西向是1.6米宽的巷子

And there’s an east-west lane as wide as 1.6m

wǒ men dāng shí zuò le shí jǐ gè mó xíng lái tǎo lùn shè jì

我们当时做了十几个模型来讨论设计

We made a dozen of models while discussing the design

zuì zhōng de fāng àn shì yī gè sì zhōu dōu shì qiáng

最终的方案是一个四周都是墙

And finally decided to make a closed house

zhǐ zài wū dǐng kāi le liǎng gè tiān chuāng

只在屋顶开了两个天窗

With walls on 4 sides

zhè yàng yī gè fēng bì jù yǒu bāo guǒ gǎn de jiā

这样一个封闭，具有包裹感的家

And 2 skylights on the roof to create a sense of wrapping

zhěng gè gǎi jiàn yī gòng huā le wàn

整个改建一共花了40万

The whole project costs about 400,000 in total

gǎi jiàn zhī hòu de shì nèi miàn jī shì píng mǐ

改建之后的室内面积是70平米

The interior area is 70 m2 after the renovation

fáng zi yī gòng yǒu céng

房子壹共有4层

The house has 4 storeys

xiān jìn rù dào yī gè xiǎo de xuán guān tíng yuàn

先进入到一个小的玄关、庭院

First it’s the entrance which is also a tiny courtyard

yī lóu shì bàn kāi fàng de kōng jiān

一楼是半开放的空间

The space on the 1st floor is semi-open

huì kè qū cān tīng chú fáng

会客区、餐厅、厨房

With the living room, the dining room and the kitchen

èr lóu shì zhǔ wò yù shì hé cè suǒ

二楼是主卧、浴室和厕所

On the 2nd floor is the master bedroom, the bathroom and the restroom

sān lóu shì xiǎo wò shì hé gōng zuò qū

三楼是小卧室和工作区

On the 3rd floor is an extra bedroom and the working space

sì lóu shì chǔ cáng zá wù de dì fāng

四楼是储藏杂物的地方

And the 4th floor is the storage space

yīn wèi dà jiā zài chéng shì lǐ shēng huó

因为大家在城市里生活

Because air-conditioning is basically indispensable

jī běn shàng huì yī lài kōng diào huán jìng

基本上会依赖空调环境

In urban areas

tè bié shì guǎng zhōu tā xià tiān de wēn dù huì tè bié gāo

特别是广州它夏天的温度会特别高

Especially in Guangzhou where it’s scorching in summer

jī běn shàng yǐ jīng wàng diào zì rán shì zěn me yī huí shì

基本上已经忘掉自然是怎么一回事

People tend to forget what it is like to be in nature

wǒ men tōng guò tiān jǐng hé tíng yuàn

我们通过天井和庭院

We solve the problems of lighting and ventilation

jiě jué fáng zi de cǎi guāng hé tōng fēng de wèn tí

解决房子的采光和通风的问题

Through patio and courtyard

dōng cè zhuāng le yī gè shuāng céng de bǎi yè chuāng

东侧装了一个双层的百叶窗

We’ve installed a double-layer louver

kě yǐ diào jié yè piàn de jiǎo dù

可以调节叶片的角度

The angle of the slats can be adjusted

lái kòng zhì kōng qì liú tōng

来控制空气流通

To control air flow

xiàng zi lǐ de lěng kōng qì tōng guò bǎi yè chuāng jìn lái

巷子里的冷空气通过百叶窗进来

The cold air comes in from the lane through the louver

rè qì zài cóng dǐng shàng de chuāng hù sàn chū qù

热气再从顶上的窗户散出去

And hot air escapes from the skylights

xíng chéng yī gè xún huán xì tǒng

形成一个循环系统

Thus a circulation is formed

jí biàn shì guǎng zhōu dù de xià rì

即便是广州30度的夏日

Even when it’s 30℃ in summer in Guangzhou

yī rán kě yǐ shū shì dì zhù zài zhè lǐ

依然可以舒适地住在这里

The owners can still live here comfortably

ā zhū hé duì fáng zi tǐng mǎn yì de

阿朱和bubu对房子挺满意的

A Zhu and BUBU are satisfied with the renovated house

kě yǐ fēn bié zài bù tóng de kōng jiān lǐ dài kè

可以分别在不同的空间里待客

They can entertain guests in separate spaces

rén zuì duō de shí hòu tóng shí róng nà le èr shí jǐ gè rén

人最多的时候同时容纳了二十几个人

The house contains more than 20 people at most

yě bù zěn me gǎn dào yōng jǐ

也不怎么感到拥挤

And it’s not very crowded

jiàn zào zhè gè fáng zi

建造这个房子

Building the house

jiù xiāng dāng yú shì zài jiàn zào yī gè bì hù suǒ

就相当于是在建造一个庇护所

Is like building a shelter

kě yǐ gēn tǔ dì yǒu gèng zhí jiē de lián jié

可以跟土地有更直接的连结

We are able to have a more direct connection with land

yě gěi chéng shì shēng huó de nián qīng rén yī xiē gèng duō de kě néng xìng

也给城市生活的年轻人一些更多的可能性

And to show more possibilities of life for young people in cities